Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2013

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DR ANN FARLEY, DIRECTOR OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING The voice of differentiation

AUTHOR

ARTICLE

TRADITIONALLY FACULTIES WITHIN SCHOOLS ARE identified by the subject areas that provide their content focus. The foci of the English Faculty, the Mathematics Faculty, the Health Studies Faculty and

of the other faculties. Their major role as new members of the Differentiated Learning Faculty is to be ‘the conscience of differentiation’ during faculty discussions and planning. With their intimate knowledge of the content and skills being developed in their various areas and an increased understanding of the elements of differentiation, these teachers work to ensure that learning is accessible to all students and that each student is faced with an appropriate level of challenge. An increased understanding of how the brain works and the many facets of how a learner engages in her own learning process means that teachers are constantly immersed in discussions focused on catering for the range of abilities and experiences that are the reality of the classroom. During the year, each faculty has identified curriculum materials and practice that need further development. For some, it has been a focus on ‘student voice’: how can we gain a better understanding of where students are located in the learning process through more effective student feedback? For others, it has been a more thorough provision of layered learning resources to cater for the variety of learning styles. For other faculties, the development of online resources using Moodle, the School’s Learning Management System, to provide ‘point of need’ learning to satisfy the increasingly discriminating independent user, has been the priority. Creating the most effective learning pathway for each student at Brisbane Girls Grammar is a responsibility that is taken very seriously. Teachers are very aware of the inherent dangers of teaching to the middle (Kryza, Duncan, & Stephens, 2010) and encourage students to be active, rather than passive, learners who understand and appreciate their own learning strengths and weaknesses. This partnership of student and teacher, coupled with a differentiated, inclusive curriculum, enables that wonderful diversity of learners to be accommodated within a single classroom.

the Technology Studies Faculty are quite clear. What, you may ask, is the focus of the Differentiated Learning Faculty? Within the framework of a differentiated, inclusive curriculum, teachers at Brisbane Girls Grammar strive to cater for the needs of each student within the classroom. All students deserve equitable access to an engaging and rigorous curriculum (Tomlinson & Javius, 2012). However, equity does not mean that the same experiences should be delivered at the same time to each student. In fact, effective differentiation results not in responding to individual needs as they arise within classrooms, but in developing units of work where the essential principle is designing experiences which provide maximum access to, and participation in, individually tailored learning. Teachers learn to accept that diversity is the norm and thus naturally adjust content, process and product in response to each student’s readiness, interests, and learning profile. Teachers in effectively differentiated classes help students to participate in the formation of their own identity as learners. Students come to trust that process, they develop the power and agency they need to become intellectual beings and thus to own the process of learning. (Tomlinson, 2008) Recently, several factors have merged to provide a particularly fertile ground for a review of curriculum content and delivery. The introduction of the Australian Curriculum, the relocation of Year 7 from primary to secondary school, the development of a variety of flexible learning spaces across the School, and the opportunities provided by our Bring Your Own Device initiative have provided an unprecedented opportunity to rethink the ways teachers interact with their students. The Differentiated Learning Faculty, with its primary focus on ensuring more personalised learning, has existed within the School for a number of years. However, in 2013, the School extended the role of the faculty to include a representative from each rigorous curriculum — (TOMLINSON & JAVIUS, 2012) .

All students deserve equitable access to an engaging and

REFERENCES Kryza, K., Duncan, A., & Stephens, J. (2010). Inspiring middle and secondary learners . Moorabbin, Victoria: Hawker Brownlow Education. Tomlinson, C. (2008). The goals of differentiation . Educational Leadership , 66 (3), 26–30. Tomlinson, C., & Javius, E. (2012). Teach up for excellence. Educational Leadership , 69 (5), 28–33.

GRAMMAR GAZETTE